Publications

July 1, 2011

Three Players Earn Individual Honors

NJCAA Names WNC an All-Academic Team

Western Nevada College's baseball team has once again been named one of the top academic teams in the country for their success in the classroom. The team that won the Scenic West Athletic Conference title with a 37-3 record (46-12 overall) has now been named an All-Academic Team by the NJCAA, finishing the spring semester with a team grade point average of 3.16.

In addition, three Wildcats student athletes earned individual academic awards. Brooks Klein and Sean Dwyer each were honored for Superior Academic Achievement - Klein had a 3.98 GPA while Dwyer had a 3.97 GPA. Patrick McMeel was honored for Exemplary Academic Achievement with a 3.78 GPA.

"Our sophomore leadership trio of Sean Dwyer, Brooks Klein and Pat McMeel are very deserving of their awards, and also deserve a great deal of the credit for setting the tone for a team-wide emphasis on academic excellence," said Wildcats Coach DJ Whittemore.

"Earning academic all-American status is the pinnacle of success for our team," he added. "This is truly a team effort as every single player's academic record is taken into the equation. It is definitely something we take a great deal of pride in each year."

To be eligible for the honors, a team must collectively attain at least a B average in the classroom, and win at least half of their games during the season. The Wildcats baseball team has received the honor in five of the past six seasons.

Athletics Director/Dean of Student Services John Kinkella said the college is very proud of the accomplishment. "President Lucey started athletics at WNC with one clear priority - that our student-athletes focus on academics first and athletics second," he said. "It is clear from this achievement that our baseball team and their coaching staff have taken her direction to heart."